Babysitting with Carlos
by Simply Marina
Summary: "¿Te amo o te quiero?" That's the questions that rings true while Stephanie is babysitting with Carlos. Since Carlos is hispanic, I thought I'd add some spanish into this Carphanie fic. Please R&R!


**Hope you like it. This is my first BTR story. Please review when you're done reading.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush. All characters, products, and music belongs to Nickelodeon. **

Stephanie glanced over at Carlos on the other side of the couch. She was a bit reluctant to come over when he told her he was babysitting a little seven-year old and his thirteen-year old brother while their parents went out for the night, but so far it had been a rather nice evening. He had explained that the Martinez family was close with his own, and the Hispanic couple asked as a favor. Carlos had told Mateo (the teenager) straight off to respect Stephanie (and not to stare at her… 'chest area') or he would call the parents and tell of the dilemma right away. He promised he would rent the younger one, Jose a movie to make him behave. They all had a good time watching some PG rated movies (Jose excited about watching _PG_ movies, it was so grown up) and Stephanie had laughed so hard at one point that she had spilled popcorn everywhere, making the others howl as well.

It was starting to get pretty late and Carlos turned to the youngest boy. "Jose, time for bed. No stalling or goofing off, okay?" he looked sternly over at the boy whom was giving him a completely angelic smile. "Mateo, can you tuck Jose in?" After getting a nod from the other boy, Carlos walked over to Jose and picked him up. He gave him a kiss on his forehead. "Buenos noches, te quiero," he told him as he sat him down. The little one repeated the phrase and scampered out of the room, already giggling and imagining all the trouble he could cause before he actually went to sleep, with Mateo following close behind. Carlos shook his head calling, "don't forget to brush your teeth!" and strode back over to the couch.

Stephanie looked over at Carlos, puzzled. "Since when are you this good with kids?" she asked him.

"I'm a man of many hidden talents," He teased. They both laughed softly.

"What did you say to Jose?" She questioned.

Carlos looked back at her, equally puzzled. "Uh, that he should take that plastic thing with the bristles on it and…"

Stephanie sighed, exasperated, and rolled her eyes. "No, not that part! What you said in Spanish. I know that 'buenos noches' means 'good night', but what does tea… tea…" she paused trying to think of the word.

"_Te_ quiero. It's how you say, 'I love you' to friends and family. Normally I'd just say it in English, but that boy needs all the practice he can get while his dad teaches him Spanish," Carlos explained to her, starting to day dream about a pretty girl with long brown hair.

"Oh. Well if that's how you say it to friends and family, how to you say it to someone who you're in love with?" Stephanie asked, not looking directly at Carlos.

"Huh? Sorry, I spaced out there. What'd you say?"

"Oh, nothing. It wasn't important," Stephanie quickly covered her question.

"Come on, tell me!" Carlos grinned, a new glint in his eye.

"No! It was really nothing! I… I was just mumbling…" she looked at Carlos fearful of what he was going to do next.

Carlos seemed satisfied with her answer at first, but just as Stephanie was relaxing a bit he lunged at her and started tickling her unmercifully. "Come on! Just tell me!" he shouted, above her giggles.

Stephanie squealed. Her eyes were brimming with tears and her ribs were starting to hurt. "Please… please Carlos… I… can't… breath…" she managed through her laughter.

Carlos stopped, but didn't take his hands from Stephanie's waist. He still had that stupid grin on his face and his eyes gleamed with laughter. Those same eyes connected with Stephanie's and found a new expression, something the latter couldn't quite place, but at the same time made her blush a deep red. She became all too aware of their position.

"Are you going to tell me what you said now?" Carlos asked in a hushed tone, not taking his eyes away from the girl he was nearly sitting on.

Stephanie pried her eyes away from his and swallowed. Mumbling, she told him the truth, "I asked how you say 'I love you' to someone you're in love with…" she trailed off.

Carlos paused before replying, "Oh, you say 'Te amo'." He slowly and reluctantly went back to his side of the couch.

Stephanie sat up and looked at the floor. There was an awkward silence between the two.

"Stephanie, I… um… Listen… I've been thinking and I think…" Carlos stuttered, but was interrupted by his dad bursting in the room.

"Hey guys! Sorry to barge in like this, but Callie wanted me to get a purse she'd borrowed from her friend and left here…" Mr. Martinez explained while walking through the room. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't really paying attention to the teens because even as he walked out of the room he was still explaining the story.

Carlos turned to Stephanie and was just about to start over when Mr. Martinez interrupted again, this time with a purse in his hand, and walked out of the room the other way. He was still explaining why he was here to them as he drove away in his car.

Carlos paused and listened for a few minutes, expecting an interruption, before he slid a little closer to Stephanie on the couch. "Stephanie, just listen okay? This is really important. I've been thinking for a while that… well…" Carlos looked into Stephanie's eyes and finished softly, "Te amo."

Stephanie's heart skipped a beat as she looked into Carlos's eyes. She bit her lip, and played 'pros and cons' in her head. Taking a deep breath she replied, "I think I love you too Carlos." She smiled.

Carlos grinned. He caught her hands and seemed about to say something when he frowned. "¿Te amo o te quiero?"

Stephanie laughed slightly. "Wanna make sure, huh Carlos?" At his sheepish nod she told him firmly, "Te amo, and don't you forget it."

Grinning again, Carlos began to slowly move towards her. Stephanie expected what was coming and closed her eyes, Carlos doing so also…

"Jose's asleep – whoa!" Mateo exclaimed when he came into the living room. "Hope I'm not interrupting something!" He smirked.

Carlos let out a frustrated groan and got up, glaring at Mateo. Sensing a fight the younger boy put up his hands in a peaceful gesture and left.

Stephanie pulled Carlos back onto the couch and, before anyone could disrupt the moment again, she pinned him against the couch and kissed him passionately. Afterwards she got up and looked down at a stunned Carlos. She bent down and nuzzled his neck before whispering in his ear "I've been waiting for this."


End file.
